Eurotrek07 - Arrivederci!

Friday 3/9 -

8:30 a.m. Aaaah...breakfast in bed and then back to sleep. This is the life.

12:30 p.m. We begin our final day in Rome with an amazing guided tour of the Roman Forum. Our guide is clearly very passionate about archaeology and is eager to share the history of the ancient ruins. It's so interesting to see layer upon layer of cities that have been built, demolished and rebuilt over thousands of years! We are surprised to learn that the excavation of the ruins began just over 100 years ago in the late 1800's. We are certain if we dug a hole in our yard we'd find nothing but dirt.

2:15 p.m. Pasta and Fanta. This has become my staple diet. Very healthy.

3:30 p.m. Stroll through Parco Traiano (a park) and take a look at the above ground portion of Domus Aurea (Nero's "Golden House"). At one time, it had 250 rooms, most of which were below ground. 30 rooms remain in tact but are undergoing renovation so it is not open for tours. Nero also displayed a 150-foot nude statue of himself in front of the house. The statue is no longer there - probably for the best. Seems like a statue of that size might block out the sun! Nero is alleged to have started the fire that destroyed much of Rome in 64 A.D. in an attempt to take over more land. He is said to have played his fiddle as he watched the city burn. What a crazy dude!

4:30 p.m. We are back at Caesar House for some rest. We're pretty tired by now as we've seen an awful lot in the past two weeks.

8:00 p.m. Just about to head out for our last dinner in Roma (to Ivo again for another amazing Buffalo Bill pizza - we're regulars!) before we return to the hotel to pack our bags.

Saturday 3/10 -

We are planning to leave our hotel for a walk to Roma Termini (train station) at 7:15 a.m. From Termini, we will take the 7:52 a.m. express Metro to Leonardo da Vinci airport. Our flight departs Rome at 10:25 a.m. and arrives in Amsterdam at 1:00 p.m. We will then depart Amsterdam at 3:35 p.m. on a nine hour and ten minute flight back in time, landing in Minneapolis at 5:45 p.m.

What an amazing trip it has been! We really have had the time of our lives!! See you all on the other side of the big pond.

Arrivederci! Auf Weidersehn! Au Revoir! Good Bye Europa!

We will miss you... Tanya & Brian

Eurotrek07 - Here's a-more!

Wednesday 3/7 -

9:30 p.m. We have just taken ourselves on a small tour of Rome - walked along the river, almost got a VERY small car wedged up my rear (I swear, they come out of nowhere!), and now we've made it to Ivo. They say this is, arguably, the best pizza in Rome. Well, they are right! And, I'd have to hear quite a case for another pizza to even consider an argument. Our pizza is called Buffalo Bill (very authentic Italian, right?) and is topped with buffalo mozzarella, parmesan, fresh tomatoes and fresh basil. We're seriously in pizza heaven. Oh, and our waiter's name is Stefano. He is a total rockstar waiter. We agree we'd definitely hire him if we were running a restaurant.

Thursday 3/8 -

8:00 a.m. There's a knock at the door. Mmm...it's breakfast! We enjoy room service in the morning and consider hiring a butler.

10:00 a.m. We've just arrived at the Vatican City, appropriately dressed with our legs and shoulders covered. Today, we are going to take Rome by storm because we are running out of time!

10:30 a.m. Our guided tour of the Vatican Museum is beginning. The tour guide is nice to have onhand - letting us know what we're staring at, pointing out countless remnants of sculptures salvaged from the ancient ruins of the Roman Forum, and preparing us for our viewing of the Sistine Chapel.

12:15 p.m. We are entering the Sistine Chapel. I am really looking forward to the art and the peace as we enter a room where photography is "forbidden" and silence is "strictly observed." The room is packed and everybody is talking. Cameras are flashing wildly about the room. The guard is continuously shooshing people and shouting "No photos!" Flashes continue one after the next until I am so disappointed by the human race that I have to leave just to cool down. Lame-o's!!! On a much brighter note, it was quite a sight to see. Michelangelo has continued to wow us from Florence to Rome. He was overwhelmingly talented and, it seems, quite a character!

12:45 p.m. Enter St. Peter's Basilica, created in the 1500's of the marble stripped from the Colosseum and filled with priceless Florentine works of Michelangelo and Botticelli, among others. The Basilica is huge. It's dome is beautiful and was designed by Michelangelo. It was his final design at age 90! He never saw it completed.

1:30 p.m. Hanging out in the Piazza San Pietro (St. Peter's Square) in the Vatican City planning our next move.

2:50 p.m. Just sat down on the patio at the Maccheroni for lunch. Turns out, Roman lunch time is from 1-3:00 p.m. and Maccheroni is about to close. Oops! We quickly order too much pasta, gobble up our meal as they are closing around us and continue on our way.

3:40 p.m. "Hey! Is that the Pantheon?" Sure enough, it is. It is funny what you'll stumble across while passing a McDonald's in Rome! The Pantheon was built in 27 A.D. and has walls 25 feet thick!

4:10 p.m. We continue from the Pantheon to Piazza Nuova, which is home to three fountains lined up within an elliptical walkway. Deep below the current Piazza Nuova in Old Rome, there was once an elliptical track used for chariot races. Super cool! Well, sort of. We have come to find out the winning horse's head was lopped off and the chariot racer would parade around the arena carring his "trophy." Gross!!!

5:00 p.m. We have reservations to tour the Borghese Gallery. Again, loads of lovely art. We are especially impressed by Bernini's beautiful marble sculptures and are excited because we are starting to recognize artists and art styles from all the art we've seen (yes, Brian too!).

6:30 p.m. Spanish Steps - pretty much just a bunch of steps amongst expensive boutiques and hotels. Nice area, though.

7:00 p.m. And, we're on to the Trevi Fountain. It is a really, really big fountain (seems like everything is really, really big here - except the cars). It was made famous by the movie "Three Coins in a Fountain", which we haven't seen. The story goes: throw 3 coins over your shoulder into the fountain to guarantee your eventual return to Rome. We took a few pictures and saved our coins for gelato instead.

8:45 p.m. We have walked clear across town today and our dogs are barkin'. Brian's not feeling great so he's taking a load off. I am sitting in the hotel living room writing. They brought me wine and cheese to enjoy while I write. Tomorrow is loose-ends day. We'll head out at the Forum for awhile and see what else we've missed. Then, we're going to pack our things! Our stay in Italy is almost over.

Eurotrek07 - More from Italia

Monday 3/5 -

8:30 p.m. Dinner at the Trattoria Marione (recommended by our friends at Rick Steve’s Italy 2007 guidebook). We spend a good 20 minutes using our Italian-English dictionary to decipher the menu (thanks Tom and Heidi!) and finally decide to split a half bottle of Chianti and a 3-course meal of Caprese Insalata (I’ve vowed to eat this at least once daily for the duration of our tour of Italy), Tortellini Ragu (tortellini with meat sauce) and Spezzatino di Manzo con Spinaci (Beef Stew with Spinach). This was, by far, the most delizioso meal we’ve eaten during our stay in Europe.

10:15 p.m. Meandering through the streets of Forence, we come across Piazza della Republica and its awesome carousel! All lit up in the night, it is calling to me “Tanya! Come for a ride on my pretty ponies!” I’ve coerced Brian onto the carousel (by paying our fare and hopping on). We are the only ones on the ride!! I am pretty much as happy as I can be. “Giddy-up pretty pony! Yee haw!”

10:25 p.m. Since Florence is the birthplace of gelato, we find it necessary to stop by a gelato stand for a scoop of cioccolato gelati for dessert after the pony ride. Next, we have wandered into Piazza della Signoria, which is about 4 seconds from our hotel. The famous Uffizi Museum is here, along with an open-air museum containing massive, gorgeous sculptures. Amongst the sculptures is a replica of Michelangelo’s David. This is where the original David once stood (he is now in the Galleria dell’Accademia which we will tour tomorrow). In the corner of this plaza, there are two musicians singing and playing guitar - songs from Simon & Garfunkel, Cat Stevens, Elton John. It is the perfect scene... eating a gelato and listening to acoustical mood music while enjoying a backdrop of hundreds of years of art and architecture illuminated in the dark in Florence, Italy. Seriously, am I the luckiest person alive? Today, I really feel like I am. NOW, I am as happy as I can be.

Tuesday 3/6 -

10:00 a.m. We have a little time to kill before our reservation at the world-famous Uffizi Museum, so we decide to start our day with a stroll down to the River Arno. We have a great view of the Ponte Vecchio, which is a covered bridge that used to house a meat market (a real meat market, not like The Loan Tree), but was closed down because it was too stinky. Now, it's popular for vending silver and gold.

10:45 a.m. Reservation time at the Galleria degli Uffizi. This place is gi-normous! The highlights are Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus" and "Primavera", and Leonardo da Vinci's "Adoration of the Magi" (pretty cool because it was unfinished so we were able to see all the different layers that go into a finished work, from sketching to the layering of colors). All of the paintings are displayed in chronological order, so we are able to see how art styles evolved and changed over time. The downfall of the visit is a stupid American who infuriates me by standing in front of "The Birth of Venus" spewing a bunch of garbage to her note-scribbling students for a good 30 minutes. Oh well.

2:00 p.m. Today is super dooper art day. So, with the Uffizi and lunch already under our belts, we are off to our second museum tour for the day. We are about to tour the Bargello, which features a bunch of sculptures and is housed in a former prison.

3:00 p.m. Next stop is the Duomo (cathedral) for a look inside. The Duomo is humongous and the exterior is like nothing I've ever seen. It's just beautiful. The inside is slightly less impressive, although still beautiful. When the Duomo was built, the technology to build a domed cathedral didn't exist. Since they insisted on a dome, a giant hole was left in the roof for years until it became a possibility. Once the dome was constructed, Michelangelo was commissioned to paint it's interior.

4:30 p.m. Our final tour for the day is Accademia Gallerie, which houses Michelangelo's sculpture of David. The museum itself is pretty unassuming and has few pieces of art aside from David. We would never have stumbled into it if we hadn't been looking for it. David stands 17 feet tall and is mighty impressive!

5:00 p.m. By this time, we have seen a contribution from each of the Ninja Turtles. And, in the words of Kevin Macalaster "No clothes on anybody! Yech!!" Time for a rest stop at the hotel.

7:00 p.m. We spend an hour or so searching for different restaurants recommended by Rick Steve's. One is closed. One is invisible (seems tough for business). Finally, we end up at Trattoria Nella and are not disappointed.

10:00 p.m. Swing past our favorite Florence-based Irish pub "The Old Stove" to attempt to get online. There is a soccer tournament televised there, so no room for the two internet geeks. Oh well. Back to the hotel...

Wednesday 3/7 -

8:30 a.m. We are early risers today! It is time for breakfast - our last meal in Florence.

9:53 a.m. All aboard! We are headed for Rome, which is the last stop on Eurotrek07.

11:30 a.m. Roma!

12:00 (noon) We have just arrived at Caesar House and it seems like a great hotel! The stuff in the mini bar is complimentary and we will be served breakfast in bed each morning. SWEETNESS!

1:00 p.m. La Taverna Romano is the real deal!! We are here for lunch and I'm sure the owners are named Mama and Luigi because they are just exactly who you expect to see running a restaurante in Rome. They are too cute. "Mama" keeps running across the alley in her apron to a produce stand for more fresh goodies. We enjoy a rigatoni pasta dish with meatballs. It is fantastico! The best part is that I get to say "It's a tasty-a meat-a-ball!"

2:00 p.m. Time for a tour of the Colosseum. It is quite amazing that something SO incredibly old is still standing and is quite elaborate! After the Colosseum, we head to the nearby Palatino for a long walk through the ruins of ancient Rome. We are intrigued by "crazy cat lady" as she feeds a can of food to about 10 stray cats. The cats seem to love "crazy cat lady" and rightfully so!

5:00 p.m. We have just been kicked out of the Palatino because it is closing time. Back to the hotel for the next game plan.

Eurotrek07 - I'm finally back online!

Thursday 3/01 -

8:00 a.m. Brian is back from Titisee to take me for a quick breakfast before heading back to SICK Headquarters for some training. He hopes to be back between 1-2:00 p.m. I slept fairly little last night and it’s raining... again... so I’m headed back to bed for a few hours.

2:45 p.m. Brian is a little later than planned due to unexpected traffic. The good news is that we are on the road. Next stop: Schwangau, Germany! Unfortunately, directions are rough and streets are poorly marked so we get off course a few times along the way. Just when we think (hope) we’re within 30 minutes of Schwangau, we start our ascent up the side of a mountain (we believe it was the Austrian Alps but have affectionately referred to it as Suicide Mountain). It’s a white-knuckled ascent and eventual descent down the other side as we are making hairpin turns in the dark during a pouring rain with a thick fog sitting over us like a blindfold. In hindsight, it’s probably best that we couldn’t see the drop-off next to us as we’re both kinda chicken when it comes to heights. Now that we’ve passed through the mountain to the other side we decide to stop and ask for directions... We are on the wrong side of the mountain!! DOH! One "coulda-done-without-that" mountain pass later we are back on course.

8:30 p.m. Hark! I spy castles illuminated in yonder foothills!! We’re here!

9:00 p.m. Dine and hit the hay.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Friday 3/2 -

10:00 a.m. Begin our 10-minute hike uphill to the first castle tour at Hohenschwangau Castle. Bonus! Our tour is in English so we actually know what we’re looking at! Unlike the Koenigsburg Castle we toured in France, Hohenschwangau was home to royalty in its day and, therefore, is filled with elaborate art and treasures. It’s amazing what ridiculous gifts a person receives when they are royalty!

11:45 a.m. Begin our 30-minute hike up another hill to our second castle tour at Neuschwanstein Castle - a fantasy land built by King Ludwig II only 120 years ago. This castle really is straight out of a fairy tale sitting in the foothills of the Austrian Alps, which serve as an indescribably gorgeous backdrop. Ludwig has even included a cave themed hideaway in his living quarters, complete with plaster stalactites, sand floors and 80’s looking colored lighting (yes, this is original!). Bizarre-o.

1:45 p.m. Our castle tours are behind us and it’s still early so we decide to hike a bit further to the Marienbrucke, which is a scary bridge high up in the hills with a totally-worth-it view of Neuschwanstein. Clinging to each other, we tip-toe onto the bridge, snap the necessary photos and narrowly escape plummeting to our deaths... okay, not really. But, it is REALLY HIGH!!

2:45 p.m. We have seen what we came to see in Schwangau and really enjoyed ourselves. Next, we are headed to the neighboring town of Fuessen for some lunch.

5:00 p.m. Depart Fuessen...Munich-bound!

7:15 p.m. Arrive in Munchen (Munich). It’s a MUCH bigger and more modern city than any other we’ve visited on this trip. We drive around for what seems like a lifetime on a quest for the BahnHof (train station) and rental car return.

9:00 p.m. The Mercedes has been returned and we have two hours to kill at the train station while we await our train to Venice.

11:20 p.m. All aboard! We have boarded the train from Munich to Venice and have found our way to the first class (2-person) sleeper car. It is the size of a walk-in closet, has tiny bunk beds and is totally awesome!!

11:45 p.m. Auf Weidersehn Deutschland!! Our train pulls out of the station and we are on our way to Italia! Riding in the sleeper car is like a slumber party as we watch a movie and drink champagne (Brian won at his meeting because he’s a smarty pants) until sleepy time.

Saturday 3/3 -

6:15 a.m. The conductor is at our door with coffee, tea and croissants. He returns our passports that he was holding until we arrived in Italy.

7:35 a.m. The train rolls into the Venezia San Lucia station. Ciao! We have arrived in Venice! I am feeling a bit irritable after a rough night’s sleep, but am excited to be in yet another country! We store our suitcases at the train station so we don’t have to haul them onto the boat and all around the streets of Venice.

8:14 a.m. Board the water bus and ride along the Grand Canal to Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square). The ride is surreal. It’s such an unusual city that it’s almost more like a theme park than an actual city! It really does look just like the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas! Funny!

8:45 a.m. We find our hotel Ca’ Dei Dogi, almost by accident. It couldn’t be more hidden - tucked away off of a street that’s maybe four feet wide. We are very glad we’re not hauling our giant suitcases! The hotel is only a couple years old and is surprisingly nice with a larger-than-expected room and a terrace! We even have a view of the back of Saint Mark’s Square. Really cool! Oh yeah, and our bathroom is complete with a bidet. Just what we need. Hehe.

9:15 a.m. Nap time so I don’t bite Brian’s head off!

12:00 (noon) We are refreshed and ready to take on Venice! We start with lunch... Italian food, of course. The Italians happen to be quite good at it! Next, we are headed into Piazza San Marco for a look around and a couple of tours. We decide to start our tour with a walk through the Basilica di San Marco. The Basilica is in a different style architecture than the Notre-Dame we saw in France and the Munster we saw in Germany, but is very beautiful. Next, we venture to the top of the Compasile di San Marco (St. Mark’s Bell Tower) for an unbelievable view of Venice. Finally, we are headed to the Palazzo Ducale and Ponte dei Sospiri (Ducale Palace and Bridge of Sighs). The palace dates back to 1309, although it was destroyed by fire in 1577 and was reconstructed shortly thereafter. There are three main portions of the palace: the Doge’s apartment (the Doge was a Venetian head-of-state with no political decision-making authority), the Senate Chambers and a prison. It is filled with super huge rooms and is very impressive!

5:00 p.m. It is closing time at the Palazzo Ducale and we are the last to leave. We know how to party into the night! We decide to walk around exploring the city for the next two hours until we make our way back to the Ca’ Dei Dogi to regroup.

8:20 p.m. On the road again.. this time, looking for a good place for dinner. This goes hand-in-hand with more Venice exploration.

9:30 p.m. Mangia! We settle on a waterfront restaurante on the opposite side of the Grand Canal from our hotel. The weather has been pretty nice in Venice so we are able to sit on the sidewalk and enjoy the March air. After dinner, we stroll around a bit more and head back to the Dogi for some sleep. We are exhausted!!

Sunday 3/4 -

8:30 a.m. Buon giorno! Today will be our last tour of Venice. Our hotel has a delicious breakfast waiting for us before we head out for our next adventure.

10:20 a.m. Our hotel concierge has given us a map to help us find our way across town to the nearest water bus stop to the island of Murano (like my car!). Murano is known for it’s beautiful handmade Italian glass. Today is a beautiful day! The sun is shining and the temperature is mid-50’s. We are loving it! My hair, however, is not. It has turned into a giant frizzball and I will not be appearing in any photos today. Apparently, in a city surrounded by water, there is quite a bit of humidity in the air! Anyway, the walk to the water bus stop takes us about 30 minutes (only because I have to stop to snap a photo at least every other minute). We have not yet explored this part of Venice and it’s lovely! It seems to be more of a residential area, with far fewer tourists.

11:30 a.m. We arrive at Murano and find our way to a glass blowing demonstration. The dude whips out a bud vase and a fish in about 10 minutes. Super cool! We are quite impressed. The majority of Murano seems to be residential as well as a bazillion glass factories and glass shops.

12:14 p.m. Hop aboard the water bus again and head on back to Venice for more exploring and some lunch.

4:15 p.m. We are fortunate enough to be sitting directly in front of Mr. and Mrs. Slurpy McKisseeface on the water bus as we make our way back to the train station. Our tour of Venice is now complete!

6:32 p.m. The train is departing Venice and is headed for Firenze (Florence) so we’ve got about 3 hours to kill while we await our next stop.

9:23 p.m. We’re in Florence! It’s kind of far with luggage but we have decided we’d like to walk to our hotel and catch our first glimpses of the city. I am already in love with Firenze! Traffic aside, it seems slower-paced than Venice and less touristy, but still has beautiful architecture and great shopping.

Monday 3/5 -

11:15 a.m. We are already back at the train station. Most of the museums are closed on Mondays so we have planned a day trip to Pisa, which I’m very excited about!

12:30 p.m. We’re in Pisa! It’s a gorgeous day - slightly over cast, but the temperature feels like somewhere in the upper 50’s. We are NOT looking forward to returning to a thousand feet of snow!!

1:00 p.m. After about a 30-minute walk across Pisa, we arrive at Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles), which is Pisa’s religious center. It is home to the cathedral (Duomo), its bell tower (the Leaning Tower), the Baptistery and Camposanto Cemetary. All four are pretty white marble Pisan Romanesque architecture. The Leaning Tower is quite a sight! No joke... it really does lean!! It is leaning at a 5-degree angle - about 15 feet off center (6 feet less than it was before it was somewhat corrected by engineers in 1990). It is hard to believe it has been standing (and leaning) for almost 900 years!!!

2:00 p.m. We are not thrilled with the idea of climbing to the top of the crooked structure so we opt for a tour of the Duomo instead. We are not disappointed! As with all the churches we’ve toured, it is breathtaking with careful attention given to every detail.

3:30 p.m. Lunch time!

4:30 p.m. We are back on the train returning to Florence.

6:00 p.m. We have returned to our hotel, Relais Uffizi, to regroup before heading back out.

8:00 p.m. I am updating my travel blog as we sit at an Irish Pub with free WiFi. We have been without internet access since Freiburg. Brian has been patiently sipping his Guinness as I type. It is going to take forever to update my photo gallery so that will have to wait. We're headed out on mission: dinner...